"BREAKING...GOOD"

It seems life is full of “breaks.” Broken cars can make you late for school or work.  Broken discipline can lead to distractions and unhealthiness. Broken relationships can lead to a lack of confidence and then bitterness. A government that can’t work together can lead to a break, then a shut-down. How is that even possible?

One of the most popular TV shows here that just ended was called “Breaking Bad.” Sometimes people for no reason at all just start doing “bad” things they never thought they would do.

When things “break” does it always have to turn bad or end bad? Is God able to take these breaks that seem so bad and turn them for incredible good?  That is of course part of how He’s worked in history.

These thoughts have come to mind the past few weeks for me as I have been taking time off from teaching in Ethiopia.

Our family had a big scare this past weekend, when something broke in my Dad’s body, something went wrong and he was rushed to the hospital with chest pain. He was in the hospital several days. When those you love experience brokenness in any part of their lives, it’s hard to see.  Though my Dad kept in his sense of humor through it all, I know it scared him and us all.

Doctors are still trying to figure out why this “break” happened in him and what is was. Thanks for continuing to pray!

My sister and I received this news about my Dad when we were in Richmond, Virginia at a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base. We had joined an intensive two week course to learn fitness as a way to do mission.  It’s interesting to me how God continues to use opportunities and circumstances to teach us powerful lessons.  God had something to teach me about brokenness while there.  Our time in Richmond included three tough physical workouts a day.  OUCH.  After our two weeks of training though, we would be certified by Coach Tim Powers as personal trainers through the Human Performance Center-Richmond; University of the Nations; and Vital Force International.

Our coach and trainer, Tim Powers

 For me, I loved the concept of learning a skill that I could use globally to teach people about wholeness and wellness.  So while learning these things, I also was deeply inspired by the students who came together to learn.  Each had a unique story that seemed to hold some element of brokenness that God was turning for incredible good. Amazing!

We joined these 24 students from around the USA and the world - learning the anatomy of the body, proper and realistic nutrition and how to design exercise programs to max someone’s full potential.  We ran speed drills, did lifting and squats, morning “ladders.”  We prayed together.

After week one, I felt inspired inwardly, but so tired outwardly. We all felt sore and felt like we had “breaks” in our tendons, muscles, etc.

What was fascinating for me to learn in our classroom training time was more about this idea of brokenness. I learned our bodies actually respond well to being stretched and literally injured. 

What you do when you train hard or lift heavy is you actually “break” your own body. 

And the amazing thing about the body is how it responds- it actually compensates to rebuild your body to handle the greater strain.  As you are broken down, it’s repaired stronger, with more muscle and power. All of that has to be done in the right way, but how amazing is that!!! The great Creator-Designer-Engineer of our bodies is beyond compare!!!!

I was reminded all over again some important truths. We are created by God and for a unique purpose. We are a masterpiece.  And we’re to maximize our time in these earthly tents.

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image…

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Psalm 39:13-14

…you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.  I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

I was also reminded that brokenness is everywhere. 

But I was also encouraged in learning that not only do our bodies actually grow stronger through heavy weights and hard stretching and pain, but our lives can also be improved and strengthened through the things we pass through. Pain and breaks can lead to new construction and incredible muscle for the way ahead.  Breaking can turned for good.

Hebrews 12:11

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it

2 Corinthians 7:10-11

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.  See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.

Isaiah 38:17

Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.

The story of Joseph in the Bible comes to mind. His life seemed crushed, completely broken. He was sold into slavery by his brothers and was taken to a foreign land. Later, he was falsely accused and imprisoned. Could it get any worse? But God turned it for good- and this is what Joseph said later to his brothers as God positioned him not only to save Egypt from famine, but his own family as well….

Genesis 45:7-10

Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!  And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping.  But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

I’ve been reminded that at any given moment, we can “break” into a bad routine or habit or thought pattern if we’re not careful.  We can choose the easy way or the comfortable way instead of the narrow way.  But because of God’s hard-wiring of us and His Spirit in and with us, we can break into good as well- choosing right even if it might cost us our jobs or a friendship. We can choose compassion and mercy instead of judgment and contempt. We can choose to love and serve our enemies. We can bless, not curse. We can sing instead of complain. We can worship in trust, no matter the breaks or circumstances, because of the one writing our life stories.

Most mountaintops are preceded by valleys or desert times of training.  These times usually involve dealing with brokenness or realizing brokenness.  Never easy to pass through!

 

But experiencing that brokenness might be just what we need.

Jesus himself did not shy away from the pain of the desert or from experiencing the brokenness of life. He entered a broken world and subjected himself t o a broken body….

Isaiah 53: 2-5

….He had nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
 and by his wounds we are healed.

In His humanity and in the humility learned- He paid for our sin to give us power to overcome brokenness. To no shield us from it- but the ability to actually grow stronger from passing through it. He rose in power and so can we!

Philippians 2: 5-11

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 John 17: 15-18

 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

If you’re experiencing brokenness of some kind, maybe a break in your body, maybe a break in a relationship, maybe you are seeing and feeling injustice at your work or in your community, take heart. If God has allowed us to see or experience brokenness, He can turn it for our great good. Breaking doesn’t have to end bad but can be turned for good.  God can increase your strength!

Philippians 1:6

…He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:20

He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine

Does God “cause” pain and suffering? Indirectly- yes. He gave us choice- and our choice brought the “break” between God and us into the world. Can God shield us from the breaks? Yes.  But often He chooses to let things play out- teaching us through the brokenness of our world and our decisions- making our stumbles and falls- as part of our testimonies.  We have a merciful high priest who has felt our pain and struggle.  We can still praise Him still through ANY pain or struggle!

This song has been encouraging me….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mmgV6mPvb0

Blessings by Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

May the breaks we experience and see, be lifted back up to God for Him to transform into a beautiful part of our story.

Psalm 30:5

…weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalm 126: 5-6

Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 147:3

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

1 Peter 5:10

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Isaiah 40:31

…those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Onward with You!!!

PRAYER REQUESTS

-Please continue to keep my Dad in prayer, He’s home from the hospital but doctors are still continuing to run tests on him.  Thanks so much for your prayers!  We love him soooo much!

-Please keep our new YWAM friends-team in Richmond, VA in prayer! The majority of this group will continue in a DTS (Discipleship Training School) for five more months, three of those months being spent serving in fitness ministry internationally. May God give unity and impact for this special group! GO TEAM!

-Please continue to pray for our school, Hope University College in Ethiopia, as classes gear up to start this month. 

-Please pray for me as I continue to work on my book and pray about my best place in the time ahead.

-Please pray for finances as I continue to fundraise for Ethiopia.

-Please pray for dear friends in Ethiopia and for the country and region overall, that God will bless!

-Please pray for our government in the USA, that this shutdown will end and a good compromise will be found…that out of bad, good will come.

-Please pray for many serving globally, that God will take the brokenness they’re seeing or experiencing and use that to make them stronger.

Together we are stronger! Blessed October to you!